From watching Mecum auctions, car shows, etc. It appears that the demographic majority of participants are in the 40's and up age range. They are interested for a variety of reasons; They always owned and loved Vettes. They always wanted one but couldn't afford it and now they can finally have one. They realize they don't have to take a huge hit on depreciation if they buy a classic. Investments, supposedly. And I am sure there are other reasons.

So what does this mean for the future value of these cars? Most, not all but most younger people don't seem to like cars with chrome bumpers. That's what I hear anyway. Will these cars go up in value as they become more rare? I sure hope my 68 doubles in the next 10 years! Or as the majority of the current enthusiasts pass over the next few decades, will the interest also pass on and values drop considerably? Now before everyone gets all worked up over that comment, I am in that category too!

Is there any insight we can gain from the market for earlier cars that have already gone through this? Will extreme legislation keep us from driving them in the future?

I don't know how much time I have to respond to this thread but I thought I would throw it out there as I have thought about it numerous times.

 

Im fortunate enough to own a Corvette in my 20's instead of my 40's, yeah some "kids" like the tuner cars and my theory on that is they don't have to do much hands on dirt under your finger nails work. Its more like a video game, you just plug in your COMPUTER and "tune" it. When they grow up they'll realize that their new plastic car depreciates and its not as cool to be seen cruising around in a Civic with stickers all over it and a fart can exhaust as it would be to cruise a nice classic. As for me, my car is a '77 and I love it don't get me wrong but I still want and WILL own a chrome bumper C3, preferably a '71 convertable. I may have upset a few people and for that I appologize, don't mean any disrespect because at least they are into cars but, just not my cup of tea and it's jmo. As for the value of a C3, mines a '77 and even though I have no intention on selling mine I don't think I'll have to worry about getting my money back out of it if I have to sell it.

 

My son which is now 17 really loves to drive the Vette to school. He always comments on how much everyone comes to look at it. The other vehicle he drives every once in a while is a 86 cj7 lifted 6" with a 383 MPI headers and side pipes. One thing he likes to do with the jeep is to come up to some of the honda tuners while in the parking lot and pulling up next to them. With 3" side pipes the exhaust is pumped into the cab of the honda's lol. Not all kids like the tuner type cars Al

 

Values will vary with the economic times, and what the market demands and will pay. I bought my vette 4 years ago, have it listed for sale now and am asking what I paid for it. I'm not making a profit and loosing money because of repairs needed & work I chose to do. I'm not in a must sell situation and can hold out until an offer is made, and possibly may not have to sell it.
Certain years will appreciate more than others, chrome vs. rubber bumpers I think will always have a disparity in value.
The idea, passion and hobby of owning the Corvette is what it's about for the majority of owners, not as an investment.
Glenn

 

I have investments for investments....

My car is for fun and b/c I have always wanted one.

 

Recently I have been thinking about trading my 68 bigblock for a C5 (don't worry, won't happen any time soon, just thinking about it). No hurry, because every MONTH the c5 is worth a little less and my 68 is holding its value.

And a related thought, I saw a thread in C5 general where a young man, 29 or so, just bought his "dream car" a 1997 corvette (available now very cheap!). Made perfect sense to me. My most car crazy passionate years were probably when I was around 13 - 15 years old. If you were 14 when the C5 first came out in 1997 I am sure that new body style made a huge impression on you - just like the 68 body style wowed me at age 15 . So if you were 15 when the C5 came out... you are 28 today!! Holy crap!!

 

 

I couldn't agree more and I'm 23 and I love my car more than life granted I would sooo trade her in for a 71 LT1 any day love that car

 

These cars (68-73 Vette's or for that matter pretty much anything else) are not going to go up in the next 20+ years.

I figure that the nice exclusive ones have all gone down between 25-50% already (tri-power big blocks, LT1's, some 454's and 427/390's......etc) and that they will hold their value fairly well now, whereas the average run of the mill examples will decline by 25 % from current price levels in the next 10 years.

I am not buying one as an investment.

 

I certainly dont think of it as an investment that will appreciate in the next years. I do see it as a solid "savings account" where I can take it out and enjoy it and have fun over the years. Since you cant put a $ figure on what its worth to take it out and enjoy it its probably not fair to say it's not a good investment. If I sold it for a small amount more in 10 yrs how do I factor in the fun factor where we drove it to shows, Blue ridge parkway crusing, overnighters with only duffle bags, top down riding on a summer night, etc etc. Im preaching to the choir about how much fun these cars are.

 

A majority (not all) of the younger crowd are more into the Asian import scene. These are the "hot rods" like the domestics were for the 50'-70's. My dad, who is in his early 60's, is into 1970's cars and doesn't care all that much for the 80's and up sports cars. Me, (Im in my early 40's) I like some of the 70's cars (early C3's) but favor the 80's and 90's cars where the Germans dominated along with the C4s and F-Bodies. Never was crazy about C1 or C2 vettes and I don't care much for anything brand new, except maybe a C6 Z06. So, I think its a generational thing. As much as I thing early C-3's are cool, I probably wouldn't pay as much for one as my dad would. And he, in turn, wouldn't see much use for a 300+ hp C4.

Some cars are destined to be classics. The early C-3's have finally come into their own in recent years. I think down the road, the best of the C3's will have strong value but the majority of them will decline, same goes for the C4s, which are what the C3's were to the collector world 15 years ago.

There is still a large group of baby boomers out there to fuel demand for older cars for some time, maybe another 20-25 years. There will be some overlap with the generation X group , like me, who like some of the old and slightly newer models.....and so on.

I think with the high baby boomer demand , alot of their cars will be restored so that there will be a bubble when the demand for those cars drops. So on the back end, there will be a supply of good cars and more reasonable prices.

 

Future car values are just big what if's. Remember the 80's Tri-Five boom? '57 Chevys fetching $100K+. The market has settled some over the years and with the power of the internet, being able to ship a car from almost anywhere, all the auctions, etc there is always a good supply of almost everything for sale. As said before, the '68-'73 C3's have really come in to their own and are attracting some of the collector car market. However Corvette's are just cars, meant to be driven and enjoyed. If you can pick one up, enjoy it, and sell it on later for a profit or just breaking even hats off to you. I don't C3's going up in value very much more than they are now but I also don't see them going down either.

The nice thing is that the value books and insurance companies see our cars in a good light. When I bought my '81 my credit union said it booked for $20K. No one would ever buy it for that much but you can bet if anything ever happened to it I will be pursuing that value. Let's just hope I never have to.

 

Predicting what value any collectible will have in the future is just a guess. With a Corvette, you have a more reliable 'guess' because of past history. But, things change over time. 25 years ago, a 1953 Corvette was a 'big deal' and cost big buck$. Today, their value is no greater than it was 25 years ago.

My opinion is that C3's will continue to increase in value...until the C3 body style is no longer attractive to the masses...or until car collectors no longer know how to work on them. IF the economy improves, folks will no longer be selling their C3's out of need, and the car's value will return.

 

If we look at the long term history of the C1 and C2; then I think it's safe to say that the C3 (particularly the "bumper cars") will hold value just fine.

But cars are not investments. Best to get a cool car that you love and hope it holds value.

Value is meaningless when applied to the "future lead car" in your own funeral procession.

-W

 

I never think of it as an investment either. I'm doing a frame off on a car that was too far gone. Probably not a wise decision but generally I am having fun,, if I ever get done color sanding and polishing. I think of it as a savings account. Assets I wouldn't have had if I didn't have the project to dump money into. The difference between what I can get for it in the future and what I have in it is by far made up by the enjoyment I get from it. I guess my only concern is the bottom falling out of the market to the point where you can't even find a buyer, say 20 years from now. Some day, when I am not around, and the wife has to sell the car, I wouldn't want her to have trouble. Boy am I a worry wart.

So what about the old, old cars, Model T's etc? What is the history of their values?

 

Collector cars will go up in price, but not relative value. Forty years ago the dollar was worth a helluva lot more than it is today. Hyper inflation is looming ahead because the federal government has resorted to printing money, just to keep the economy going. This country is over $13 trillion in debt and adding more than $1 trillion a year. I have heard that housing prices will return to their peak 2005 levels in the next 15 years, but those gains will be wiped out by devaluation of the currency. Hold on for $10 gas, milk and a loaf of bread.

 

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. I have been a finance professional for 15 years, and maintain the priviledge to use the CFA designation. When I bought my car 2+ years ago, my analysis used an exit value assumption of $0. If your analysis doesn't look appealing with that assumption, my professional recommendation is that you find something else to invest in.

That is all

 

I purchased my 1971 LS5 4 speed, AC, Convertible with 27,000 miles for $4,500 in 1975. Very poor investment. I bought it because I wanted the car.
Buy what you want, but invest your money in something that will grow.

 

I really think we all have much larger concerns than the collector car market and should be worried. An ostrich with it's head in the sand is still in trouble.

That being said, would you want to own and drive a Model T or some other putt-putt car? They appealed to a very small audience to begin with, one that has pretty much moved on to the next life. Muscle cars and vettes are a totally different scene. They were cool then and even more cool now.

In the future, when most people are driving around in their little zippy electric cars, they will be sought after even more...unless the tree huggers and Gore's global warming disciples have their way and manage to have any kind of meaningful internal combustion horsepower banned from the roads. Nothing much surprises me these days.

 

Maybe... But like the Model T I have to wonder whether the high prices being asked for 'originals' will be sustained. Like the Model T, younger generations may not want a Corvette with an antique drive train. They may prefer to upgrade to something more modern, more efficient, more power and certainly more reliable... Interest in Corvettes may be sustainable for a while but I'm not so sure about the prices demanded for originals once the boomers have moved on... Like a Model T, depends on whether the buyer wants a museum piece or a hot rod...